Disclaimer: This blog will pertain to my U.S. readers; my suggestions may not apply to my international followers.

Part IV: Trust & Provider Feedback Matter

Let me say here that TRUST is a huge and important aspect of working with your healthcare provider. Just as you trust your family, spouse, partner, or friend, so should you trust your provider. Hey, you have chosen them to help take care of your BODY. Trust applies to all my previous blogs in this series.

Be it your physician, physical therapist, counselor, specialist, or other provider, consider providing constructive feedback. If they did well, by all means, let them know. If there is room for improvement, I would encourage that also. As a patient, it took me several years to feel comfortable doing the latter, and not all providers are good at receiving one-on-one feedback. Be sure the feedback is TIMELY.

Here are other options if you don’t feel comfortable doing one-on-one feedback.
A. Most providers have surveys; please complete them.
B. Rate them on their website with feedback in stars or numerically.
C. Rate them on Healthgrades, a grading website for providers.
D. Give the feedback in writing directly to the provider to avoid one-on-one.
E. If you were unhappy with the provider, many of us just choose another one.
F. However, some would like to improve, so here is how I did it one-on-one.

I had chosen a well-respected physician for a surgical procedure. Unfortunately, I had a bad postoperative outcome and ended up in the emergency room the next day. But because I had a friend staying with me, and because I am a nurse and taught patients how to manage my condition, I did so without any intervention from my physician’s office. But after a week of managing on my own after my friend left, I realized how dangerous my home situation mighty have been for a less able-bodied or less knowledgeable patient. Here are the one-on-one recommendations I gave to his RN and Clinic Manager in a phone call:

Have his nurse make a followup call to me after the ER visit to see what I needed and how I was doing.Because I was given physical restrictions and could not drive and lived alone, I would recommend a home health referral for physical therapy or occupational therapy if needed. They, in turn, would have recommended a wheelchair at home instead of a walker. (I had friends help me get a wheelchair from a volunteer organization.) This was critical for my independence at home.

His staff apologized and said they would make some policy changes to prevent this in the future.

During my office visit 5 months post-surgery, I first complimented him on his visit to me in the ER that night. Not all doctors would have done that. I then discussed my recommendations that I had given to his RN and manager of which he agreed. Early after surgery, the physician gave me a one-month delay in my recovery, but instead, my recovery was delayed several months. I relayed that giving me a range of time would have been more helpful. He received my feedback gracefully.

In addition, it is your prerogative to refuse any care or treatment. I would encourage you to be honest with your provider if you are not going to follow the treatment plan, rather than say “yes” and never do it. During my office visit check-in, I complained of mild to moderate discomfort in my sit bones. The nurse immediately wanted to send me to X-ray. Because I believed it was a soft tissue problem, I refused the X-ray and asked to wait for the MD evaluation. Sure enough, the doctor agreed with me and directed further care through physical therapy treatments. It is OK to say NO.

I encourage you to give both positive and constructive feedback to providers in some way to help all of us improve our healthcare and keep those providers who work so hard to keep us well.

Here is further reading on this topic: Giving your doctor feedback. and University of California, San Francisco.

Let me hear from you about your experiences in the comment section below. We can learn from each other.

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